LookingToLearn

Has anyone here done this--grown their hair long (say shoulder length, ponytail length) when it was receding or thinning, say when they were around a Norwood Class III or IV? I believe my hairline is receding, it is currently a V or square shape, though the hairline itself is only a fingerbreadth above the frontalis muscle (though it does have thin, miniuaturized hairs at the very front); the corners have receded more than the actual center of the hairline. I just want to grow it out long for once before it all goes, but I'm worried about looking silly. Any thoughts, advice, personal experience?

Is there anyone here who is balding or has had hair loss, who still has kept their hair long? Pictures? I am just curious.

What was Brando's NW Class, going by these pictures, roughly from around the same time?

Hi A 22 y/o guy here...I've noticed a lot of shedding in the last few months and I worry that my hairline is receding. I want honest opinions on both my hairline as is, and also, whether it looks as if it's receding or simply maturing. I am sorry I could not get better quality photos; My camera is not set up with my computer and as such they were taken with my cell phone.

My hairline has been thinning slowly, but it seems to be staying within the NW 1-2 range. However, the right side is a bit different from the left. The left side looks unchanged from how my hairline always has been...But the right side is thinner, less full, and the temples aren't as sharp on that side, whereas on the left they're normal. What does this mean? Could it just be a maturing hairline (I'm 22) or will the other side follow and go the same as the right side? Or will I just end up with an irregular mature hairline?

My maternal grandfather was a pure Caucasian, Italian and he had a flat hairline, all his life, pictured here age 52

I do have at least one known NW 6, yes. My great uncle, grandmother's brother, was a NW6 by his late 30s. Now he was also alcoholic who looked like he was 59 at 39 due to his drinking so I dunno if it played any part. My grandmother's other brothers could all have been bald for all I know, I've never seen any older pix of them. My grandpa (Mom's dad) and his brothers, there was only 3 but none were beyond a II or at most III. I'm definitely not a Class I--Don't have that flat hairline. Here's me, now:

Thanks. I don't put THAT much stock, but I look at them as some sort of an indicator. My dad is NW II, light IIv. My (maternal) grandfather was NW 1 or 1.5 at most at death (he died 55 years old). My dad's brothers, none of them are anything past a NW II. What I am worried about are getting recessive genes from my great grandfathers. Mom's dad's dad: Mom's Mom's Dad What were they??

What are the Norwood classes of the following relatives of mine?:I ask so I can chart my own probable progress. Maternal Uncle (first pic is him at 31 in 1994; last pix are the last few years in his late 40s): Paternal Grandpa (pictures of him are between ages 65 and 68, last pic is him recently at 84. Note how in some pix you can see thinness while in others it appears like a full head of hair)

At times when I run my hand through my hand, I'll get 4-6 medium/long hairs. This will happen each time I run my hand through, it stops after about 3-4 run throughs. Other days there's no hair at all when I run my hands through. Similarily, when I shampoo my hair, I'll get 5-7 hairs in each run through, for about the same amount of time, though sometimes none at all. Is this normal hair shedding or true hair loss?

What exactly makes the NW 2, 3 and 4 classes different? Can someone post examples of each stage?

Many guys I've noticed, older time guys, if they were a NW Class 3 or 3V or even slight 4 would grow the hair on top very long and push it back, and it made them appear less bald then they actually were. Like if they had short hair on top, it'd look bad. Take for example my grandfather. He is likely a NW 3V, with diffuse loss in the front as well. He grows his hair long on top and pushes it back and if you were to look at him from the front or sides you'd think he had a full head of hair. Or look at Presidents Richard Nixon and Lyndon B. Johnson. Likely both Class III or 3V respectively, but their hair was so long on top that they didn't "appear" bald per se: How does it work per se, growing it long on top makes it look fuller? I've noticed myself that since I cut my hair really short, people have (for the first time) noted that my hair looks like it's receding. Before I used to have it very long on top, down to my eyes.

Over the past few months, I've had massive amounts of trauma and stress--a very bad breakup. As a result of the breakup, for a time I wasn't eating, and then only a meal a day, and even now, only two meals a day--I lost about 14 lbs in a month's span. And prior to that for the past year I'd been using a lot of gel in my hair, almost daily. And I've been suffering from a severe Vitamin D deficiency and have taken supplements because of it. Every time I run my hands through my hair, I get 3-4 long hairs, with each run through; same thing goes for when I'm shampooing. I'm not sure if it's the start of true hairloss or simply because of the physical/psychological stress and the Vitamin issue. I usually grow my hair very long on top--the front will reach my eyes or longer, slicked back. I got it cut very short for the first time in years on top compared to my norm. I've just noticed that to my hairline looks different. Compare my hairline here at age 16: to two weeks ago before the haircut (it was very long on top): to now: What NW class am I at? What is it likely I will proceed to? I am a 22 turning 23 year old male.

Is there any correlation between a Vitamin D deficiency and/or using a Vitamin D supplement, and hair loss?

Let's say a guy is in his early-mid 20s and his hair loss seems to accelerate, is there any possibility that it will stop or slow down? Or does hair loss ALWAYS go directly to a NW7? What I mean is, let's say a guy gets a lot of shedding etc in his early 20s...Could the hair loss possibly just stop at a NW3, or will he progress to a VII no matter what?

Having a M shaped hairline like yours doesn't mean automatically that you're going to go bald. Plenty of men well into old age have that same shaped hairline and don't go bald at all. On the flip side, I've seen men who started out with totally flat hairlines go to being a Norwood Class VII. You have nothing to worry about and I don't suggest medicine or any kind of treatment. Seriously. Your hairline looks great.

A maturing hairline is sometimes (understandably) confused with baldness, as one's hairline recedes and hair sheds and is lost...But unlike MPB, a mature hairline doesn't recede once it assumes it's final shape. But at what age does one's hairline fully mature? By what age, on average, should one have a mature hairline?

What NW Class would you say Clark Gable was?

FDR had Class IV hairloss and was elected in massive landslides from 1932 to 1944; Truman was also Class IV and was elected to a second [first elected] term in 1948; Ike was a Norwood VI or VII and was elected twice in a landslide victory...Beginning with JFK, who had a thick mop of hair and barely even a mature hairline, the tendency to elect balding men to the White House began to decline. Lyndon Johnson, who had a NW Class 3V pattern, elected in a landslide in 1964 over the more obviously bald Barry Goldwater, and Richard Nixon, who had a Class 3A pattern and who was elected in 1968 and re-elected in 1972 against men who had less hair than he, were the last men with cosmetically significant hairloss to be elected to the White House. Gerald Ford, who became President upon Nixon's resignation in 1974, was a NW Class VI or VII, was not elected to office in his own right and was bested in the election of 1976 by Jimmy Carter, who had a good head of hair. Carter in turn was defeated in 1980 by Ronald Reagan, who had no hairloss at all, and not even a mature hairline, despite being 69 years old when elected. GHW Bush, who had a more mature hairline, defeated Dukakis, who had a similar hairline in 1988, but was defeated in 1992 by Bill Clinton who also had a pre-mature hairline and a bushy head of hair. Since 1976, in every election, the candidate with more hair has won. Will this trend ever reverse itself? Shall we ever again have a President with a less than full head of hair?

What is the "permanent zone"? Is that in essence the area of the head where hairloss will not occur? Also, any other thoughts on Mr. Franklin's NW scale? I want to grow my hair long but am worried about going bald...Currently somewhere between a NW1 or 2....But if I went to something like Franklin's I might grow it out anyway.

If a person begins thinning/receding at a young age (teens-early 20s), can they stop say at a NW 3 or NW 4, like can a 3 or 4 end up being their final hairline/amount of loss, not going beyond that? Or does everyone who starts early progress to a NW 7 if they live long enough?

Is NW II the same as a mature hairline, or is it actual hairloss? Opinions seem to differ on this; I've seen people say NW3 is the first REAL stage of baldness, with NW 1 being no loss and NW 2 being simply a mature hairline.

My brother in law's hair is slowly thinning, but he's in his 40s. His hairline is very high and thin now with thin parts on the crown. But he wears a ball cap EVERYWHERE now, even in the house.

My dad told me he's had that bald patch in the back since he was 14 or 15...Which made him go nuts worrying he was going to go bald in a lot of his youth.

There's not really any good pictures of my dad with his hair slicked back. In the photos below he has it tied in a ponytail in the first two pix and just brushed back in the last. He was 40 when these photos were taken. Note he also has a bit of a bareness at the vertex. It's not very noticeable however.